The following is an update from the CHAMPS Ethiopia newsletter. Read more to learn about their recent progress and future programmatic steps.  Subscribe to the newsletter here.
 

We have had a good couple of months and we hope you have too. Our social science team have been very busy, completing the first part of our community engagement programme. Meanwhile it is all-go preparing laboratories for child health, pregnancy and mortality prevention surveillance.

WELCOME to new members of the CHAMPS team: Mr. Gamachis Daraje (Statistician); Mr. Feyisa Abebe (Software Engineer), Mrs. Robe Hawas (Software Engineer), Ms. Caroline Ackley (Anthropologist) and Mr. Zelalem Mariam (Microbiologist).

Mr. Emmanuel Azore (Clinical Scientist) and Mr. Dadi Maramu (Microbiology) have been working hard to support laboratory development – including building an incinerator, as pictured here. Refurbishment of the pathology laboratory, microbiology laboratory and existing equipment is underway!
 

Social Science Team Meeting with Community Leaders
 

Our social science team completed 20 workshops with the community and community leaders since our last newsletter. This included religious leaders (preachers, imams, priests), elders, health extension workers, field workers, district officials, chairpersons of the women’s development army, Eder (community based organizations) leaders, head of women’s affairs, kebele (sub-district) chairpersons (locally called Abba Ganda), directors or school principals, and Development Agents (DA). Here Mr. Yosef Zegeye and Mr. Zirhune Girma update investigators at the CHAMPS Ethiopia Management Committee. This work is already providing important insights into our engagement with the community and its leaders and the need for awareness of CHAMPS activities.

What is coming up?

• Liz O’Mara and Ahoua Kone from the CHAMPS Program Office return to us for data collection training for our social science team.
• Nana Sarkodie Mensah, our Project Coordinator at LSHTM is coming to visit at the same time as Shirine Voller, Project Manager at LSHTM/KEMRI-Wellcome Trust.
• Khatia Munguambe and Fiona Wiltshier will be joining us to provide NVivo training for our social science team.
• Stefanie Wittmann, a paediatrician, will be joining us in Harar.